Date 11/2 || Time Lunch || Venue Hard Rock Stadium || video ABC

Next up for Duke football is a trip to Florida to take on the Miami Hurricanes. It’s a slightly different world: The Canes play at Hard Rock Stadium, where the Miami Dolphins also play. The stadium seats approximately 80,000 and Miami takes football very seriously.

The good news is that Duke has also been taking football seriously for some time now.

Duke’s Manny Diaz, of course, was the coach at Miami from 2019-21. Covid probably played a role in his downfall there, but he wasn’t terrible there. He finished his first season at 6-7, then 8-3, and finally 7-5 before being fired.

It was probably unfair given Covid, but he says he’s happy with the eviction. However, it was his hometown school, which probably hurt a bit.

Now, under Mario Cristobal, Miami is 8-0 and could make the playoffs.

Realistically, the Canes will be favored, and probably heavily. But Duke isn’t hopeless: Diaz has brought a level of toughness to its defense that is truly impressive, and you only need to score two points to win a football game.

Realistically, though, you’re not going to beat Miami 2-0 or 3-0. They need to score some points, and Duke’s offense struggled to accomplish that.

To beat Miami, the Blue Devils will need solid play on both sides of the ball. Victory is possible, but it will likely require a great effort.